Pirate Princess (21 page)

“She is a pirate!” Griffin said as he rubbed his jaw. “And she is Captain Rocco’s daughter. He is on his way here to trade his life for hers.”

“What?” Jared asked, “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Are you his daughter?” Faxon asked me.

I nodded my head, gasping from the pain. It hurt so much worse than being cut or stabbed.

“Tilia!” Finn yelled from inside the prison. “Tilia!”

“What is he yelling about?” Jared asked.

“You don’t know, do you?” Faxon asked in shock. He looked at Griffin. “You didn’t tell him. You put that spell on her so that he wouldn’t find out!”

“Tell me what in the name of the mother is going on now!” Jared bellowed.

“Sir,” a guard said as he ran up, “Rocco’s ship is almost to the port.”

“Don’t…hurt…him,” I panted.

“Tilia!” Finn screamed again, “Stop hurting her!”

“I’m going to kill you after this is done,” Faxon snarled at Griffin. He pulled off my mask and Jared’s eyes widened in shock. Jared fell to his knees next to me, dismayed.

“Tilia, I’m going to lay you on your stomach so I can heal your wound,” Faxon whispered.

Jared reached towards me, horror on his face and tears in his eyes. “Tilia, I didn’t know.” In a second, his mood switched and he stood up and grabbed Griffin by the throat. “Explain yourself!” he roared.

“If we kill Rocco we upset the pirates’ balance and they will spend the next five years or more fighting over a new king. We would have true peace and it would be easier to take out the pirates,” he said quickly, “and the easiest way to capture Rocco was to keep up the ruse that we didn’t know Jax was Tilia or you would have released her,” Griffin said, “It was the best plan for the Kingdom.”

“You knew who she was the whole time?” Jared asked.

“I found out after the third day she was here,” he said truthfully.

“You let my niece sit in a cell in the dungeon for a week and let Esmeralda and I worry over finding her when she was here the entire time! You allowed me to whip her!” Jared screamed into Griffin’s face.

“Sacrifices have to be made to keep peace,” he said, “You were only going to whip her three times, which would not have been fatal and she would have healed quickly from it.”

“Why didn’t you just unlock the doors?” Faxon asked me as he healed my back.

“I didn’t think of it at first and by the time I did he had tied me up so I couldn’t move,” I answered.

Griffin fell to the ground and blood poured out of him to cover the ground. Jared dropped the dagger he had just used to kill Griffin next to Griffin’s body. “I thought you were my friend. I thought you were a good person. Clearly I was wrong,” he said. I knew I should have felt bad that Griffin was dead, but I had seen how cruel he was and I was glad he was dead even though I felt that it made me a terrible person to feel that way. Jared wiped his hands on his pants and then sank down to his knees by my head. “Tilia, I am so sorry. If I had known…”

“Not your fault,” I said, stopping his apology.

“Release the pirate,” Jared ordered one of the guards nearby.

“Sir, what about Rocco?” he asked nervously.

“I’ll handle him.”

I grabbed Jared’s hand. “Please, don’t kill my dad.”

“He really is your father?” he asked me. I nodded my head. He exhaled loudly and ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe you should come with me to talk to him.”

“Almost done,” Faxon whispered. “Why didn’t you call on me earlier?” Faxon asked.

“Or say something the day you were brought in? Or at the beach when you fought me?” Jared asked angrily. He had every right to be angry with me.

“I didn’t know what you would do if you found out who I was,” I admitted to them, “I was trying to figure out a way to escape so I couldn’t be used to hurt my dad and still keep my secret.”

“I could have killed you,” Jared said, “Why did you challenge me?”

“I figured you wouldn’t kill me if we dueled,” I told him.

“I thought your moves looked familiar,” he grumbled.

“I should have known it was you when you set my jacket on fire,” Faxon murmured.

“Are you really Jax?” Jared asked. “Or were you just pretending at the Festival?”

“I am Jax,” I said, the pain finally starting to go away. “And Rocco is my father.” Finn ran out to me and I sat up so he could hug me. “And I’m dating a pirate captain,” I said as I looked over Finn’s shoulder.

Jared lowered his head and sighed. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

“Have you ever?” I asked with a smirk.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” Finn said as he looked at my back.

“What?” I asked trying to look at it.

“You’ll have a scar,” Faxon told me, “I healed you, but the scar will remain.”

“Its fine,” I said, “I don’t care about scars.”

I looked at Cristoff’s body and removed myself from Finn’s arms to walk over to him. I knelt by his head, out of the puddle of his blood, and rested my hand on his forehead. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” I whispered. “You saved me and it cost you your life. I wish you had stayed away and stayed safe.” I bent over and kissed his forehead.

I started to stand up, but someone grabbed me and then I was being kissed. I pushed them away to find Cristoff’s smiling face. “And to think all I earned for dying for you was a forehead kiss!” he said, “That had to be righted.”

“Cristoff,” Finn growled.

“How are you alive?” I asked him in shock.

“I’m a faster healer than most and seem to have a lot of extra lives,” he told me, still holding me in his arms.

“Cristoff,” Finn said again.

He kissed me cheek and then released me. “So possessive,” he said to Finn, “it’s definitely a pirate trait.”

“Tilia, we need to go see your dad,” Jared said.

I nodded my head and said, “But I think you should stay here.”

“I’m not staying here,” he told me with a frown.

“My dad is likely furious right now and if he sees you he is going to try to fight you,” I told him. “Let me talk to him first and then you can come talk to him when he calms down.”

“She’s right,” Cristoff said, “He’s ready to kill every last one of you to get her. That man of yours told him she was to be hanged for her crimes today. We better hurry,” Cristoff warned me.

Finn took my hand and the three of us ran to the docks just as Dad stepped onto the dock from his long boat with some of his crew with him. “Tilia,” he said as he grabbed me in a hug when I ran to him. “Are you alright?” he asked, “Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Dad,” I assured him. No need to mention the whipping.

“The guy who was writing you didn’t talk to the King. He hid Tilia from him and the King had no idea you were even coming,” Cristoff informed him.

“Where is he?” Dad asked.

“The King?” I asked him.

“No, the guy who caused all this.”

“He’s dead. Jared killed him,” I informed him.

“So, you mean we don’t get to storm the castle and blow things up?” Sedgwick asked.

I shook my head. “Not today.”

He sighed. “Spoil sport.”

“Jared wants to talk to you,” I told my dad, “But you have to promise not to fight him.”

“You’re alive and well so I suppose I’ll let him live,” he grumbled.

“I’m alive and well too, Cap. Thanks for asking,” Cristoff said with a smile.

My dad patted his back and then we walked towards the castle.

“So, you were really going to raid the castle?” I asked him.

“I was going to do whatever I had to in order to save you,” he said, “and if you were dead I was going to burn this town to the ground.”

Finn walked with me, still holding my hand, but stayed quiet. I knew he would be leaving soon and I didn’t want to bring it up yet. “Well I’m glad that didn’t happen,” I told my dad. “I plan to come back here every year and if it was burned to the ground I wouldn’t be able to stay.”

Dad looked at me curiously, but didn’t say anything. The townspeople stared at us from their windows, but none walked outside. The castle came into view and Faxon and Jared stood talking quietly to each other with Esmeralda spinning her sword in her hand, something she did when she was angry and nervous. We stopped at the bottom of the steps and they stared at us. It felt weird, the three pirates looking at the three royals and yet I felt torn between both sides.

Dad bowed his head. “Your Highnesses.”

“Captain Rocco,” Jared said and walked down the steps with his hand out.

Dad looked shocked, but shook Jared’s hand nonetheless. “I hear you killed the man who caused all this trouble?”

Jared scowled and nodded his head. “I would never put Tilia in harm’s way. If I had known…”

Dad smiled. “We all make mistakes and trust the wrong people.” He looked up at Esmeralda and his face softened. “Queen Esmeralda, you look as beautiful as ever.”

She walked down and curtsied to him. “Hello, Pirate King.”

“So, are you here to destroy the town?” Jared asked.

Dad laughed. “Not today.” He looked at me and said, “She’s safe and that’s all that matters.”

“I can’t believe Elena never told me she married you,” Esmeralda said with a shake of her head. Elena was my mother’s name.

“She didn’t want your father trying to capture me to steal her away,” he told her. “She wanted to visit you, but decided it was best just to write.”

“How did she die?” she asked, swallowing loudly. Jared put his arm around her shoulders for support.

“She became ill when Tilia was three and the illness took her quickly. We didn’t even have time to get to a healing mage,” he said softly.

“I’m sorry,” Esmeralda said, “I know she loved you very much even if I didn’t know your real name.”

“Aye, but she told me she wanted you to help make a woman out of Tilia starting when she was ten. I didn’t want to give her up, but it seemed to be the best decision,” Dad said.

“She turned out to be quite an interesting woman,” Jared said with a smirk, “But it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Dad laughed. “No, it doesn’t. I think I indulged her too much when she was little and let her become a pirate when I should have taught her to crochet or something instead of how to throw a dagger.”

“I hate crocheting and I’m the best dagger thrower in the kingdom,” I said indignantly.

“Second best,” Jared corrected.

“You’re welcome to challenge me again, but we all know I am better,” I told him with a smile. Everyone laughed and then the moment was gone and we sobered up.

What were they going to do? Would Jared and Esmeralda be able to forgive me? Or would they disown me? “Now what? What happens now?” I asked nervously.

Dad turned to me, Finn let go of my hand so I could face my dad. “Now I return to being an outlaw pirate.”

“I don’t want you to go,” I whispered, “I barely had any time with you.”

He smiled. “I know, but in order for you to live a life you deserve I have to keep my distance.”

“Do I deserve this life?” I asked sadly, “I almost caused a town to be destroyed, Cristoff died, Faxon almost killed Finn and Cristoff while they were fleeing in the boat, I was almost killed, and Esmeralda has been wearing a groove in the stairs worrying about where I’ve been!” I yelled.

“You know if you had been honest with us to begin with we wouldn’t have had to deal with this,” Esmeralda said.

Faxon sighed. “Well, she confided in me that she was worried Griffin would use her to try to kill her father and she was right about him. I think we were all too blind to see Griffin’s true nature when she did. I can understand her fear of not telling us, especially when her fear turned out to actually happen.”

“I still can’t believe you’re Jax,” Esmeralda said, “You should have said something when I talked to you in the cell.”

“I was trying to escape without you finding out,” I muttered, “if Griffin hadn’t known about my lock picking power I would have walked right out with my mask hidden and been escorted to the castle by one of the guards.”

“What lock picking power?” my dad asked.

“I can unlock anything,” I told him.

“That’s how you stole back your necklace!” Finn said.

I smiled and nodded my head. “That and I set that small fire on the far side of your ship so your men would rush over there while I grabbed the necklace.”

“You weren’t joking when you told us you were a pirate princess,” Faxon said, “In more ways than one I suppose since your dad is the King.”

Jared and Esmeralda looked at each other and did their strange silent communication thing. He took her hand and they turned back to face me.

“Even though you were a pirate,” Jared said, “You are still our niece and the next in line for the throne. Plus, the rest of the kingdom doesn’t know you’re Jax and I am guessing most of the pirates don’t know that you are Tilia either, since you wear your mask and alter your hair color when you’re Jax.”

“What are you saying?” I asked him in shock.

“I’m saying that if you want to continue to stay with us, you are welcome here with open arms and some new restrictions,” he said with a smile.

“What if I want to go exploring the seas?” I asked softly.

“You’re a little young for that,” my dad grumbled.

“You took Cristoff on when he was ten!” I reminded him.

“That was different.”

“Why? Because he is a boy? I’m seventeen and I almost won the festival,” I said tartly.

Dad sighed and looked at the ground just like all of the other adults were. “It’s not really my decision anyways,” he said sadly after a minute, “I’m not your guardian anymore.”

Esmeralda walked down the steps and took my hands in hers. “As much as I believe this makes me a terrible guardian and proves that I am way too lenient on you…If you want to go explore the seas, you can as long as you agree to my provisions.”

I had to be dreaming. She hadn’t really given me permission, had she? “What are they?” I asked.

“You can go, but only for one year. You have to meet us back here in a year and resume your training for taking over the throne,” she said, “Two, you and Finn, or anyone else you might fancy, cannot get married or have a baby…”

“Or try to have a baby,” my dad added.